Speech refers to spoken language. Speech is using the muscles of the tongue, lips, jaws, and vocal track in such a precise way as to produce talking - the sounds that make up language. Language refers to the system of words and symbols - written and spoken or expressed with gestures or body language -that is used to communicate meaning.
Speech impairments are “disorders of speech sounds, fluency, or voice that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the educational environment and result in the need for exceptional student education."
Language impairments, on the other hand, are defined as “disorders of language that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the student’s typical learning environment, and result in the need for exceptional student education."
Language impairment is further defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language" (Florida Department of Education, 2011, pages 250-251). A language impairment can range in severity from mild to profound and may result in a primary disability or may be secondary to other disabilities.
There are three kinds of language disorders.
Receptive language issues involve difficulty understanding what others are saying.
Expressive language issues involve difficulty expressing thoughts and ideas.
Mixed receptive-expressive language issues involve difficulty understanding and using spoken language.
Some students may experience severe language impairments requiring the use of an assistive device to aid in communication. By law, assistive technology must be considered for all students with an IEP. Therefore, districts must have clear policies and procedures that can be easily accessed to guide the IEP teams as they move forward in the assessment process. The primary goal of the assessment process with regard to an AAC device is to provide tools and strategies necessary to make communication as efficient and effective as possible and support the student in becoming a competent communicator. Many students with speech or language disorders are identified early in their school career or before formal schooling is started, especially so if the impairment is pronounced. Some students, though, may have a milder disorder that slipped by, without early identification. Consider these signs that may point to a possible undetected speech or language problem.
– difficulty following directions that are spoken or read – difficulty comprehending a story that is spoken or read – difficulty organizing thoughts or ideas to convey information clearly – appear to have words “on the tip of their tongue”, but can’t quite seem to access them – frequently use non-specific words (e.g. stuff, those, thing) or semantically related words (e.g. “writing thing” instead of “pencil”) – frequently use gestures instead of words to convey their message – difficulty retaining the details or main idea of a story – difficulty appropriately responding to questions or staying on topic – difficulty reading or spelling – difficulty recalling sequences of numbers or letters – may be difficult to understand, and may use several speech sound errors or substitutions (e.g. “dut” instead of “duck”) – frequently repeat sounds or phrases (e.g. “I I I I I want the blue car” or “I want I want I want the blue car”) – appear to be “stuck” on a sound or word (e.g. “Ssssssee you later”) – become frustrated when they cannot clearly convey their message – begin to shut down or withdraw from communicating (e.g. “I don’t know”)
An occurrence of any of the above factors does not necessarily mean a speech or language problem is present, but it may be something to consider if the problem is persistent and other factors are ruled out.
Many students receive speech/language services, without the need for communication devices. Whether the student is assisted through technology or therapy, the teacher plays a vital role in the student's successful classroom experience. Please note these strategies to help students succeed. – Create an atmosphere of acceptance and open communication. – Encourage students to be “active listeners”. – Discourage interrupting between students. – Encourage students to use extra “thinking time” before they talk. – Avoid correcting grammatical errors. – Use visual support to supplement verbal directions. – Modify your linguistic input. Simplify your language and avoid sentences that are syntactically and semantically complex. – Create multisensory learning opportunities. – Describe what is going well. Positive verbal reinforcement is one of the most effective tools.
compare the current participation level of the student with nondisabled peers of the same chronological age,
identify the student's specific communication strengths and needs, which may vary depending on the environment,
identify existing barriers, such as:
opportunity barriers - those barriers which operate outside of the student and included policy and practice barriers such as not allowing technology to go home, as well as attitudinal, knowledge, and skill barriers which may impact the school team's ability to support the student effectively. access barriers - those barriers that relate to the students themselves and include their capabilities, attitudes, and resource limitations with regard to communication competence.
The primary goal of the assessment process is to provide the tools and strategies necessary to make communication as efficient and effective as possible to support the student in becoming a competent communicator. Communicative competence depends on mastery and integration of skills in four areas:
Linguistic competence - proficiency at using one's own language as well as the language of the AAC system. This involves aspects such as vocabulary, sentence structure, and word endings.
Operational competence - technical skills necessary to operate and maintain the device.
Social competence - having a desire to communicate and awareness of the social rules of communication.
Strategic competence - to work within the limitation of the AAC system
Once communication needs are identified, the next step is matching device features to the student's needs and preferences and conducting trials to find the most suitable device to help the student with communication.
AAC Device features to consider:
Symbols - consider size, color and type. Photos may work better in some instances than line drawings.
Vocabulary - the student must have the necessary vocabulary or the device will not effective.
Display - static displays have pictures that stay in one location (communication board), whereas a dynamic display on an electronic device provides greater variety.
Voice output - digitized, created from a recording of a human voice or synthesized, created by a computer.
Physical - size, weight, durability, and portability.
Ease of use - how easy is the device to use and program.
How Helen Keller Learned to Talk
Tips for Parents
Dynamic Display Devices
Gloves That Translate Sign Language
Carly Fleischman
Carly Fleischman on The Doctors
Using a Tobi-Dynavox for communication and leaning in a gen ed classroom
Ryan Carter and his Dynavox
Autism Apps An app to find apps for individuals with Autism.
Implementation ToolKit Dynavox Explore a variety of resources in the Implementation Toolkit, such as screening tools and implementation guides, and hundreds of other resources that promote successful communication in daily life using AAC. http://www.dynavoxtech.com/implementation-toolkit/
Augmentative Alternative Communication Intervention Resources relating to literacy and communication include tips of the month, workshop handouts, and products for purchase. www.Aacintervention.com
AAC Language Lab Teaching materials and resources for implementing AAC Prentke Romich Company www.aaclanguagelab.com
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Professional organization provides resources and guidelines for serving individuals with AAC needs. www.asha.org
Speech Education Technology British Columbia (SET-BC) A wide variety of print resources, visual supports, and videos to support the implementation of technology. www.setbc.org
Disclaimer: Content referencing various software, products, devices, websites, organizations and businesses, both non- and for-profit, may be found on several pages of this wiki. Be advised that FDLRS Gulfcoast does not recommend any particular entity, nor should inclusion of any software, product, device, website, organization, business, or other entity be viewed as a commercial endorsement by FDLRS Gulfcoast, the FDLRS Project Network, or Pinellas County Schools. Information included on this site is for informational and educational purposes only.
Communication Function
Speech refers to spoken language. Speech is using the muscles of the tongue, lips, jaws, and vocal track in such a precise way as to produce talking - the sounds that make up language.
Language refers to the system of words and symbols - written and spoken or expressed with gestures or body language -that is used to communicate meaning.
Speech impairments are “disorders of speech sounds, fluency, or voice that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the educational environment and result in the need for exceptional student education."
Language impairments, on the other hand, are defined as “disorders of language that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the student’s typical learning environment, and result in the need for exceptional student education."
Language impairment is further defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language" (Florida Department of Education, 2011, pages 250-251).
A language impairment can range in severity from mild to profound and may result in a primary disability or may be secondary to other disabilities.
There are three kinds of language disorders.
Some students may experience severe language impairments requiring the use of an assistive device to aid in communication. By law, assistive technology must be considered for all students with an IEP. Therefore, districts must have clear policies and procedures that can be easily accessed to guide the IEP teams as they move forward in the assessment process. The primary goal of the assessment process with regard to an AAC device is to provide tools and strategies necessary to make communication as efficient and effective as possible and support the student in becoming a competent communicator.
Many students with speech or language disorders are identified early in their school career or before formal schooling is started, especially so if the impairment is pronounced. Some students, though, may have a milder disorder that slipped by, without early identification. Consider these signs that may point to a possible undetected speech or language problem.
– difficulty following directions that are spoken or read
– difficulty comprehending a story that is spoken or read
– difficulty organizing thoughts or ideas to convey information clearly
– appear to have words “on the tip of their tongue”, but can’t quite seem to access them
– frequently use non-specific words (e.g. stuff, those, thing) or semantically related words (e.g. “writing thing” instead of “pencil”)
– frequently use gestures instead of words to convey their message
– difficulty retaining the details or main idea of a story
– difficulty appropriately responding to questions or staying on topic
– difficulty reading or spelling
– difficulty recalling sequences of numbers or letters
– may be difficult to understand, and may use several speech sound errors or substitutions (e.g. “dut” instead of “duck”)
– frequently repeat sounds or phrases (e.g. “I I I I I want the blue car” or “I want I want I want the blue car”)
– appear to be “stuck” on a sound or word (e.g. “Ssssssee you later”)
– become frustrated when they cannot clearly convey their message
– begin to shut down or withdraw from communicating (e.g. “I don’t know”)
An occurrence of any of the above factors does not necessarily mean a speech or language problem is present, but it may be something to consider if the problem is persistent and other factors are ruled out.
Many students receive speech/language services, without the need for communication devices. Whether the student is assisted through technology or therapy, the teacher plays a vital role in the student's successful classroom experience. Please note these strategies to help students succeed.
– Create an atmosphere of acceptance and open communication.
– Encourage students to be “active listeners”.
– Discourage interrupting between students.
– Encourage students to use extra “thinking time” before they talk.
– Avoid correcting grammatical errors.
– Use visual support to supplement verbal directions.
– Modify your linguistic input. Simplify your language and avoid sentences that are syntactically and semantically complex.
– Create multisensory learning opportunities.
– Describe what is going well. Positive verbal reinforcement is one of the most effective tools.
For more on the suggestions above, visit http://nspt4kids.com/parenting/navigating-speech-language-difficulties-in-the-classroom/, the source of this content.
The Participation Model is an assessment approach developed by Beukelman and Mirenda (1991). It provides a systematic process to:
- compare the current participation level of the student with nondisabled peers of the same chronological age,
- identify the student's specific communication strengths and needs, which may vary depending on the environment,
- identify existing barriers, such as:
opportunity barriers - those barriers which operate outside of the student and included policy and practice barriers such as not allowing technology to go home, as well as attitudinal, knowledge, and skill barriers which may impact the school team's ability to support the student effectively.access barriers - those barriers that relate to the students themselves and include their capabilities, attitudes, and resource limitations with regard to communication competence.
The Participation Model
The primary goal of the assessment process is to provide the tools and strategies necessary to make communication as efficient and effective as possible to support the student in becoming a competent communicator. Communicative competence depends on mastery and integration of skills in four areas:
Once communication needs are identified, the next step is matching device features to the student's needs and preferences and conducting trials to find the most suitable device to help the student with communication.
AAC Device features to consider:
Autism Apps An app to find apps for individuals with Autism.
Does AAC impede natural speech?
Information for AAC teams.
http://www.rockybay.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1.3-AAC-Does-Not-Hinder-Natrual-Speech-Development.pdf
Implementation ToolKit
Dynavox
Explore a variety of resources in the Implementation Toolkit, such as screening tools and implementation guides, and hundreds of other resources that promote successful communication in daily life using AAC.
http://www.dynavoxtech.com/implementation-toolkit/
Communication Bill of Rights
National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities
American Speech-Hearing-Language Association
http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/NJC-Communication-Bill-Rights.pdf
Free Augmentative Communication Resources
Language Lab
https://aaclanguagelab.com/resources/free
Augmentative Alternative Communication Intervention
Resources relating to literacy and communication include tips of the month, workshop handouts, and products for purchase.
www.Aacintervention.com
Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI)
Free materials with regard to assessment for AT
http://www.wati.org/content/supports/free/pdf/Ch3-Communication.pdf
AAC Language Lab
Teaching materials and resources for implementing AAC
Prentke Romich Company
www.aaclanguagelab.com
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
Professional organization provides resources and guidelines for serving individuals with AAC needs.
www.asha.org
Speech Education Technology British Columbia (SET-BC)
A wide variety of print resources, visual supports, and videos to support the implementation of technology.
www.setbc.org
Resources to consider for school and home.
Disclaimer: Content referencing various software, products, devices, websites, organizations and businesses, both non- and for-profit, may be found on several pages of this wiki. Be advised that FDLRS Gulfcoast does not recommend any particular entity, nor should inclusion of any software, product, device, website, organization, business, or other entity be viewed as a commercial endorsement by FDLRS Gulfcoast, the FDLRS Project Network, or Pinellas County Schools. Information included on this site is for informational and educational purposes only.